11th Annual York US30 Musclecar Madness

York Musclecar Madness Hosts Mopars

The 11th Annual York US30 Musclecar Madness was not on the same weekend as the Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals this year, a scheduling conflict that has been unavoidable due to the availability at the York Fairgrounds many years. However, as a result, many notable Chrysler products and personaliites were on hand for the whole event as well as Sunday’s Nostalgia Nationals at Beaver Springs Dragway.

Promoter and former NHRA Division Director Darwin Doll has succeeded in creating an annual event that is well-attended by some of drag racing’s best known personalities. This year, it included Arlen Vanke, Judy Lilly, the Bob Banning Dodge team of Sneden and Reitz, Bobby Harrop, Kenny Warren, Bud Faubel, Ed Miller, and many others. Autograph sessions and on-the-spot interviews gave attendees a chance to enjoy them all. Several made the trip to the nearby Eastern Museum of Motor Racing, which hosted a special tour Friday morning before the show’s 1:00PM opening.

The cars at York ranged from street cruisers to vintage restorations to modern race iron. The focus is vintage muscle, but there were a couple of late-models on display, including a Drag Pak. Hemi power could be seen as motivation in some of the funny car and dragsters on display as well. The outdoor car show doubled the count of vehicles on hand, with Best of Show going to Dave Ertel’s ’71 hemi ‘cuda tribute. Great ladies Judy Lilly and Linda Vaughn did the honors.

After Saturday evening’s ‘Cruise Out,’ where guys cackle and idle their cars from the two buildings as the show’s finale, action moved up the Susquehanna valley to the time warp known as Beaver Springs Dragway early Sunday morning. A monster field of 57 Super Stockers, augmented by a number of entries who had come in from Canada, was mainly Max Wedge and Hemi Mopars. Two rounds of qualifying, one that was flag-started, and two rounds of racing were completed before a torrential shower in the late afternoon ended the event. Again, Beaver Bob McCardle hosted many personalities from the past, and the on-track action was hot, from exhibition gassers and funny cars to Junior Stock.

Next year’s dates may again coincide with the Carlisle event, which does make for hard choices. However, since York is a Friday/Saturday show that runs into the evening, many are willing to manage to attend both; Beaver Springs Nostalgia Nationals happens just one day a year but is a ‘full day’ activity on Sunday. We hope to see you there; this is a wonderful event. For more info and photos on York, go to www.yorkus30.com; for info and photos on the Nostalgia Nationals and the Saturday Hemi Shootout, go to www.beaversprings.com.

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